A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction

Rating:
Summary: Clear concise and interesting
Review: Placher has done a wonderful job of delivering on a whole host of ideas. He has made some very complicated ideas much more accessible than many authors. He writes in a captivating way that is almost like reading a story than a textbook presenting ideas.

From the influence of Greek philosophy to the "End of Christendom", he touches on many key ideas in a way that makes you want to read more. He is clear and at times puts in a bit of his own opinion in an educated manner.

This is still just an introduction, since you cannot be comprehansive in so few pages. But he brilliantly solves this problem by giving a very good bibliography at the end of each chapter. Moreover, he has a basic and advanced bibliography for each which helps you decide how "deep" you want to get into a subject. It is unfortuante that some of the books are out of date.

I highly recommend this for any theological student.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Overview of Historical Theology
Review: Placher offers an excellent overview of the History of Christian Theology in this volume. His writing is lively, and he offers concrete examples for abstract philosophical and theological concepts. This is an excellent text to use for an undergraduate level survey course in historical theology.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but misleading title
Review: This is a good introductory level book on the history of Christianity. Though the title suggests that the book deals primarily with historical Christian theology, it is actually an overview of the development of Christianity throughout the ages. Placher deals from the early stages of Christianity (the Apostolic times) to the 20th century. Though not difficult to read, it is still useful for the pastor or scholar.